From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Northern Waters Library Service is a federated library system which provides services to 27 public libraries across eight Wisconsin counties (Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Sawyer, Vilas, and Washburn).[1]
The system began in 1959 as an agreement between Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, and Price counties to share a bookmobile service. By 1969, the Multi-County Library System had reached its current membership of eight counties.[2] The current form of the organization was established on January 1, 1973, as the Northwest Wisconsin Library System, one of the first created under a state law which provided funding to public library systems.[3] The name was changed to Northern Waters Library Service in 1989.[2]
The system is responsible for Merlin (“My Electronic Resource Library Information Network”), a centralized online catalog for all member libraries which was created in 2000.[2][4]
- Ashland County
- Bayfield County
- Burnett County
- Douglas County
- Iron County
- Sawyer County
- Vilas County
- Washburn County
- Shell Lake Public Library, Shell Lake
- Spooner Memorial Library, Spooner
- Spooner Memorial Library Books & Bread Bookmobile
- ^ “Public Library and Public Library System Directory”, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, August 1, 2025.
- ^ a b c “About Us”, Northern Waters Library Service. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
- ^ “Public Library Systems”, Wisconsin Library Service Record, 1973, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Division of Library Services, June 1974, pages 52–71.
- ^ “About Merlin”, Northern Waters Library Network. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
